Forever or Always
by theprofoundestofbonds
Summary: A sort of coffee shop au meets smutty apartment neighbors meets romantic drama-ish? Read the first chapter, it's not that long, then decide if it's worth your time. I'll be updating as often as possible and your critiques/suggestions are much appreciated. Enjoy! Also, this was sort of inspired by this post: (link is connected to my tumblr page but the post does not belong to me an
1. Chapter 1

The fire alarms in her apartment building start blaring at one in the morning, not even an hour after Tris had fallen asleep. She is sure the universe must hate her.  
Groaning and cursing, Tris gets herself out of bed, stumbles out of her apartment and into the hallway. All of her neighbors are already heading down the stairs; the exception being the man to her left who is just standing in his doorway, wearing nothing but his underwear. "Is this for real?" He asks, voice thick from sleep.  
Tris hasn't seen him since he moved in a week ago and even then she had only been fortunate enough to see the back of him as he stumbled into his apartment that night. Now, she can see not just his face but also the happy trail on his stomach which leads down into his very tight boxers.  
After a small somewhat awkward moment of silence, she finally managed to speak, "Probably. I haven't heard them go off in the three years I've been here. I'd suggest you put some pants on in case we're locked out."  
The man stopped rubbing the sleep off his face as she spoke and has now looked her up and down twice before he replies, "Thanks for the concern. Maybe you should consider getting on some clothes yourself."  
She had been too absorbed by her surprise at seeing him to realize that all she had worn to bed is a form fitting tank top and underwear- thank god it's the black ones and not the cheap teddy bear ones. Flustered, she stumbles back to her door. "Yeah. Uh, thanks..."  
His expression is serious but his eyes are laughing at her. "Tobias." He offers.  
"It's been nice meeting you Tobias." She says through her teeth.  
"Do you have a name?" Now he wears the hint of a smile, which disappears almost as soon as it came.  
"Right. Uh..." She can't process the feelings in her chest along with the fire alarms blaring in her head and those intense eyes of his staring her down.  
"Choose wisely. Don't want the weird guy next door to know your real name." He's reverted back to that serious look on his face, with the amused glint in his eyes. She should hate that look- it's so mocking- but the amusement is infectious when it's in his eyes, like he's inviting her to laugh at her own foolishness.  
So, despite the horrifying situation, she smiles. "No that's not why I...its Tris. Actually, it's Beatrice but mostly everyone calls me Tris."  
"Ah. Well if we're being informal, you could call me Four. My...coworkers call me Four." He stiffens and she guesses it's because he's expecting her to ask about the name.  
"What do you prefer?" She asks instead.  
His eyes search her face curiously for some reason she can't guess. Then he says simply, "Tobias."  
"Well it was nice to meet you Tobias." Just as she puts her hand on the doorknob the alarms stop and her ears start ringing.  
"Guess it was a false alarm." Tobias says, staring at her like she's about to vanish and he wants to get one last look in the event that she does disappear. "Want to go get some coffee?"  
"It's one in the morning!" She exclaims, but doesn't decline.  
"It's 1:20 actually. And we're up anyway. Might as well make the most of it." His eyes are pleading, but his expression remains stoic.  
She sighs and taps her finger on the door, considering. "Alright. Let me get changed first, though."  
He smiles and it's shocking but not just because it's a break from the serious expression. His smile transforms him so completely it's like he's a different person and so she decides then and there that she'd like to cause that smile again and again until it's all she can see. And that thought scares her but not as much as it should.


	2. Chapter 2

Tobias and Tris walk to the Bean where Tris works because, as they should have guessed, everything else is closed. Then Tris ushers Tobias in through the back door and turns on the light in the kitchen, but nowhere else, so as not to draw any early morning customers in too soon. Not that any sane person would be up at this time.  
As she prepares the coffee, Tobias sits on top of the counter, so close to the coffee machine she can't help but brush his thighs with her elbow as she works.  
"So, what do you do for a living?" She asks to fill the strangely electrified silence.  
She feels him looking at her as she pulls cups down from the cabinet above the machine. She has to stand on her toes and reach so far that her shirt rides up, exposing her hip. A part of her instinctively wants to pull it back down but then she catches his eye and she thinks better of it. Instead, she turns her head to look at him. "See something you like?" She teases.  
Tobias hops down from the counter and moves behind her. He's doesn't touch her but the space between them might as well be nonexistent. "Social worker." He murmurs and he grabs the cup she had been reaching for. "That's what I do for a living." He sets the cups down and moves back a few inches. She feels color rush into her cheeks and slowly turns around to face him. When her eyes meet his he adds, "and yes, Tris, I do see something I like."  
The coffee finishes brewing with a finals squirt and she uses that as an excuse to look away.  
"Cream or sugar?" She asks, her voice too high pitched, obviously showing how nervous she is.  
"Neither." He says quietly.  
With shaking hands, she sprinkles some sugar in her cup, then turns around to hand him his. "We can sit in the office." She gestures to the door behind him but Tobias doesn't move. She squeezes past him, practically her entire left side tubing against him, and goes in without checking to make sure he follows. She sits in one of the chairs that face the desk and instead of sitting in the other one Tobias perches himself against the desk. "Do you have a phobia of proper seating or something?"  
Tobias smiles- much to Tris's delight- and takes a sip of his coffee. "Do you enjoy working here?" He asks, and his expression is calculating.  
Tris considers. "Well, I prefer it to my job at Jojo's but it's not necessarily something I want to be doing for the rest of my life."  
"What do you want to do with your life?"  
Tris sips her coffee slowly, considering. "Well, I always thought I'd work at the church my parents owned but when they…." She lowers her cup and her eyes follow because she can't look into Tobias's curious eyes. She clears her throat. "When my parents died my brother Caleb sold the church. I got my jobs so that I could save up and buy the building back but it's been demolished." When Tris looks up she expects to see familiar pity in Tobias's eyes but instead he looks angry.  
"How could your brother do that?" He nearly growls.  
Tris takes another sip from her cup and shrugs. "I honestly don't know. I never saw it coming. Maybe he did it out of grief. I don't know."  
Tobias's lays his hand on Tris's knee and her eyes meet his, startled. "He shouldn't have done that." Tobias says quietly, like an apology.  
Tris decides in that moment, as his fingers press gently into her leg, that Tobias is going to be more than her neighbor.


	3. Chapter 3

It is obvious to Tris that she and Tobias are attracted to each other. They could easily jump into bed, have a good time, and go their separate ways. That's how Tris has been handling relationships ever since the church had been sold and how, she imagined, he would like to do this as well. But, since that revealing night in the bar, Tris has uncontrollably begun to develop feelings other than lust for her neighbor. If only she knew how he was feeling about this.

In the past two days since that night they haven't spoken once; but he had left a note for her which reads:

Meet me here at 1:30 a.m. tomorrow night.

When she had first received the note she found it cute that he wants to meet at the same time and place they had before. Then she chided herself and remembered that this is the only time he knows she'll be free.

And now that time has come and she is standing in the same place she had been two days ago. Now, though, she is more nervous than she has ever been in her life. She checks her phone's clock just at it changes to 1:30 and then looks up at the sound of a door opening.

Tobias sneaks out of his apartment as if he's a young boy and the sight of him makes Tris giggle like a schoolgirl. The sound obviously surprises Tobias but he doesn't break character, continuing to act stealthily as he puts a finger to his curled lips. It's not an outright smile but Tris is still pleased with herself. "You have to stay quiet." He whispers to her when he's an inch away from her.

Tris suppresses another giggle but can't help the huge grin she now wears. "Where are we going?" She whispers back. When his hand rests on the small of her back her smile fades and her heart starts beating faster.

Tobias smiles mischievously. "Do you trust me?" He starts walking, moving the hand that was on Tris's back across her arm so that now their fingers link together.

"Do I have a choice?" Tris teases as she is gently tugged toward the elevator.

Tobias pulls her into the elevator and pushes her against the far wall in one swift movement which leaves Tris breathless. His face is just inches from hers, his arms on either side of her head. "Beatrice. Do you trust me?"

She doesn't know what compels her to answer so quickly or so surely, "Yes."

His lips twitch but of course he doesn't let a smile escape. "Good." With that, he releases her from the cage he built around her and steps out of the elevator she hadn't even noticed had been moving. Tris finds it hard to move at first, but when he looks back, expectantly holding out his hand, she is no longer paralyzed.

They walk out into the dead of night and make a series of turns until she suddenly doesn't recognize the area at all. The town has disappeared so now they are walking past just a single row of houses on one side and empty land on the other. As the sounds around them grow quieter and quieter, Tris feels her fear growing. She slows her walk. "Tobias…."

He looks back and when she looks in his eyes she is no longer afraid. "We're almost there." He reassures, squeezing her hand once.

She picks up her pace, practically skipping now. When they stop her heart soars even higher at the sight of a picnic laid out in the middle of what looks like the foundation of an old house. "What happened here?" Tris nearly whispers. Excitement and curiosity swirl around in her so quickly she can't tell the difference.

Tobias moves in front of Tris, blocking her view of the property. His eyes are calculating, searching hers for her reaction. "This whole area, as far as your eyes can see, was devastated by a tornado years ago. The foundation of this church was all that survived." He pauses, waiting for her to respond. She has lost the giddy feeling and most of the curiosity, as it is replaced by a hauntingly familiar sadness. When she doesn't utter a word he continues, nervously and quickly. "I know it isn't your parent's church but I thought you'd appreciate the story and I don't know… it was a stupid idea. I'm sorry I brought you here." He takes her hand and starts leading her away but she keeps her feet planted, and stares beyond him at the beautifully tragic wreckage. Tears fill her eyes but she blinks them away. She imagines a family much like her own living here happily, then suddenly being ripped away. The tears are difficult to hold in.

Then, somehow, even as the story she imagines plays through her mind she feels a calm settle over her. The story here isn't lost; it survives in the bricks, in the foundation of this former church- this sanctuary. "This… I know it probably shouldn't but it makes me feel…hopeful." She finally looks at Tobias who is staring at her as if she's about to tell him some big secret. "Do you own this property?"

Now Tobias looks away, down at his own feet. "I'm, uh, sort of in the process of purchasing it…. Uh, I hope this doesn't make me seem like a crazy person but I actually looked into buying your parent's church back for you but the owners say they aren't planning to sell it for a very long time." He pauses for a short beat, looking at her, and then continues in a rush, "It seems so foolish now but after what you told me about your family I felt like I had to at least try to make up for what your brother did to you. I don't know why."

"Are you saying you bought this for me?" When he doesn't look at her, but at his feet again, she has her answer. "Oh, Tobias, you shouldn't have- I mean, it's too much. I have no idea when I'll be able to pay you back and-"

Tobias interrupts her, his eyes suddenly holding hers with a fierce gaze, "I don't want your money, Tris. I know we just met but I want you to be happy. I want you to have what was selfishly taken from you." Tris tries again to protest, but he touches a finger to her lips to stop her. Then he cups her face in his hands and continues gentler, "If it makes you feel better, I'll own it until you can buy it. But, I want you to manage it and have complete control over the plans for rebuilding it. I'm too busy at work to deal with it." He adds the latter sentence to cushion the blow that is this offer; or rather, order. Then he releases her and takes a step back to give her an inch of space to think.

Tris is speechless for exactly fifty of her rapid heartbeats. Then, she relents. "This is crazy and I couldn't be more confused but okay." She takes a deep breath. "Thank you." She adds, balancing on her toes in order to give him a kiss on his cheek. Then, as she watches his face turn a bright red she giggles and walks toward the picnic he laid out. Before she makes it there though, she is spun around and Tobias presses his lips against hers in the most impossibly sweet yet fierce way imaginable.


End file.
